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The problem I see is that wildlife don't pay property tax. It seems more and more trees are being torn down in my city to make way for new buildings—houses, st
by jimkleiber 5y ago
The problem I see is that wildlife don't pay property tax.
It seems more and more trees are being torn down in my city to make way for new buildings—houses, stores, etc. And I thought about why it might be happening and I stumbled on the idea that buildings increase property value, property value increases property tax, cities (in the US) often run on property tax.
Perhaps some wildlife areas can have economic value, such as tourism, but I struggle to see how leaving certain places wild and untouched fits with the incentive of property tax.
Any suggestions?
- h2odragon 5y agoRecognize the monetary value of the civic services they provide! Raccoons should be paid at least half as much as a human "sanitation engineer", right?
- marapuru 5y agoGrowth is the thing cities and business focus on. They may call it sustainable growth but it's still growth at it's core. If you could somehow prove that wildelife areas generate some sort of growth, short and long term, economically focused.
- actually_a_dog 5y ago> Any suggestions? How about we recognize the inherent value of green space and nature to humans? For instance: Mental Health Benefits: * Stress and violence reduction. * Improved concentration. Physical Benefits: * Enhanced health. * More rapid healing. * Improved environmental conditions. Social Benefits * Crime reduction. * Increased workplace productivity. * Safer driving. * Economic stimulation. * Positive effects on children. (Details and citations at https://www.udel.edu/academics/colleges/canr/cooperative-extension/fact-sheets/human-benefits-of-green-spaces/ https://www.udel.edu/academics/colleges/canr/cooperative-ext...) People in general are way too quick to reduce things to dollars and cents.
- jimkleiber 5y agoI agree it has those benefits and if I imagine those would create a higher quality of life, then each property that does have homes or businesses could be worth more. So city revenue could go up because 1) each parcel is higher in value or 2) the city could even charge more premium property tax rates to be in such a high quality city. In other words, the city maintains itself more as a luxury good than a commodity.
- asdff 5y agoNatural areas can increase property values. Look at the property values of the houses abbuting griffith park or anywhere along the san gabriel mountains vs those in south central LA. The difference in price for an otherwise identical 3br home might be $1.5mm between areas with easy access to nature and those without. I'm sure this is true in just about any city, where neighborhoods near parkland are generally more valuable than areas far from parkland surrounded by development.